Vietnam- The End

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The End of Vietnam

Richard Nixon elected
  • promises "peace with honor" in Vietnam
  • Vietnamization- Nixon's policy for winding down war
  1. Troops withdrawn
  2. training and equipment given to South Vietnamese
  3. by 1972, only 24,200 troops remained
  • Bombing raids increased- hurt supply lines in North Vietnam
  • bombing expanded to other countries- Laos and Cambodia

  • Nixon wanted enemy to believe he would do anything to win war
  • Nixon loses support from the public and Congress- Gulf of Tonkin Resolution repealed

The Pentagon Papers
  • Govt. had been lying about the war
  • Pentagon papers are published- what was actually happening in the war and why was the govt lying about it
  • New York Times vs. Nixon

Peace Talks- 1972
  • Henry Kissinger, Le Duc Tho
  • "Peace is at hand"
  • Nixon get reelected
  • U.S. bombs North Vietnam more than it ever had before in Christmas- "Christmas Bombing"
  • Large civilian casualties

The U.S. and Vietnam agree to end war and restore peace in Vietnam- 1973
  • part of the deal: North Vietnamese would release American prisoners of war
  • American prisoners stayed in Hanoi Hilton (pretty brutal place) there were signs of torture
  • Most famous prisoner: John McCain- stayed in the camp for almost 7 years
  • Prisoners developed tapping code to talk to each other

But in 1975
  • North Vietnam military attacks
  • Saigon falls
  • Vietnam is reunited under communism

War really ended in April in 1975
Legacy
  • 1.5 million Vietnamese deaths
  • South Vietnam is unstable
  • Cambodia falls to communism

America Copes
  • America has to cope with the Vietnam War
  • 58,000 Americans killed
  • 365,000 wounded
  • $150 billion in direct costs
  • U.S. attempts to come to grips with a "loss"- blow to self-esteem
  • Changes in U.S. policy

Major changes as a result of the conflict
  • Govt. gets rid of draft
  • War Powers Act- curb the power of the president
  • altered American foreign policy
  • Americans become cynical

Disillusionment
  • Veterans extended a cold hand
  • Veterans were treated terribly
  • Some veterans suffered from stress disorder
  • Many citizens are embittered toward govt.
  • Entire generation of Americans was affected